Two-alarm apartment fire displaces 30 in Odenton

Kevin Rector, The Baltimore Sun

A large, two-alarm fire tore through an Odenton apartment building near Fort Meade on Wednesday afternoon, damaging 12 units and displacing about 30 people, according to the Anne Arundel Fire Department.

The fire occurred in the same Seven Oaks complex that was damaged by another two-alarm fire in September.

No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire remained under investigation, said Chief Michael Cox, a department spokesman.

Firefighters responded about 1:11 p.m. to find fire coming from the rear of the building, burning up the complex's three stories.

Crews entered the building with hose lines, but "had to be removed from the building as the conditions deteriorated rapidly," Cox said.

Firefighters then began an aerial assault on the fire with hoses attached to a truck ladder positioned above the flames, Cox said.

It took 65 firefighters about a half-hour to contain the fire, he said. Units remained on scene hours later, he said.

Those displaced were being assisted by the American Red Cross and the apartment complex's management company in finding shelter, he said.

The fire is the second to hit the Seven Oaks community in recent months. On Sept. 30, a two-alarm fire caused residents of 24 apartment units to be evacuated in the 2000 block of Military Place.